We landed amongst a motley crowd of semi-Arabic sailors, donkey-boys, and soldiers. Fortunately for us, we had no acquaintance among several affectionate gentlemen waiting for their friends, upon whom they precipitated themselves with the most extravagant marks of affection as soon as they landed, kissing them all over their stubbly faces. We had to undergo, as usual, the process of luggage-searching, though not with the usual result, for we were found to have contravened the laws of the _aduana_. An ordinary Valencian knife, which we had bought to take home as a curiosity, being found in our trunk, we were taken for _contrabandistas_, and being immediately formed into a procession, headed by a man bearing the fatal _corpus delicti_, amidst a chorus of such exclamations as "_Caramba, vamonos, vamonos!_" were placed as prisoners between a couple of blood-thirsty looking _aduaneros_, and led off to the _aduana_, or custom-house. Here we were brought up before a severe-looking official, with, as usual, a cigarette in his mouth, from which the smoke was streaming out in clouds, as well as from his nostrils. This gentleman, whose voice was loud, and his manner quick and jerky, darted out several questions in Mallorquin, the meaning of which we but imperfectly understood. "_Somos Inglés_" suddenly, however, struck us as being a brilliant thing to say, and we said it, our friend at the same time making the rash linguistic attempt to add in Spanish, "_Cuanto hay que pagar. Donde está el consul Inglés_?" We waited to see what result would follow these experiments. The official, with a severe aspect,--not assumed, for it was natural to him,--took out of his pocket a great knife, and began to pare his nails, after the accomplishment of which task he surveyed them with satisfaction, and turned to some other officials, whom he addressed. They conferred together in a knot in a corner of the room, all talking at once with the most wonderful velocity at the top of their voices. A sign was then made to us by the chief to be silent. At the same time, one of his myrmidons went out, and in half-an-hour returned with an order from the English Consul for our liberation. The same person also brought information from that gentleman which seemed greatly to calm their minds, inasmuch as it assured them that we were not, after all, dangerous conspirators come from England, that hot-bed of revolution, to commence an insurrection, and spread fire, death, and desolation throughout Her Catholic Majesty's provinces. We were then politely allowed to go about our business--a permission of which we immediately availed ourselves.